A Resolution Solution

With the new year upon us, one of the most common things that people resolve to do during the new year, is take actions to get themselves leading a healthier, more active lifestyle. The Cincinnati Mom’s Blog is already bringing you some healthy recipes to try out in the new year, but we are also making it a goal to make sure the active piece is covered as well.

Working out and getting exercise is tough, especially as a parent, because your responsibilities to your children need to come before taking some time to polish your physique. That being said, there are a few things you can be doing in those sparse minutes between parenting tasks.

As somebody who has literally tried and sampled dozens of workout and fitness apps, the following five are my favorite. Not only are they super helpful, but they are quick and easy to use.

Essentially, this app is an assortment of hundreds of exercises you can do. They are organized by body part and area, allowing you to focus where you want. For example, there are literally dozens of ab exercises you can work on. Another thing I really liked about Instant Fitness is that the activities are also organized by the equipment you need to do them. This means you can start out as a complete novice, with nothing, and then as you become more invested in what you are doing, strategically choose the things you need to go further, as opposed to spending a lot of money up front and not getting its worth from it.

I don’t know much about yoga personally, but for three dollars I was able to give it a shot. I really loved this app, there is so much you can do with it. Essentially there are three different routines you can practice, but you can customize how long each of them goes for. As a beginner you can try it out in fifteen minute doses, and build from there. The instructions are clear and easy to follow, with both verbal and visual instructions. There is a point system that lets you unlock new things, and you can even customize the music that plays during each part of the routine. It probably won’t be as helpful as taking professional classes, but it provides a real workout.

For those who are really crunched for time, you can always squeeze in a little bit of effort and work in the form of the seven minute workout. While seven minutes might not help you much in trying to shed pounds, it’s a really straight forward regimen that might give your muscles a little extra oomph. My advice is watch it through a couple of times before you actually attempt it, so you aren’t scrambling around trying to figure out what happens next. But on a really busy day when you can’t fit in time on these other apps, this might help you feel like you still accomplished something.

There are tons of running apps out there that do the same things. The one that I’ve stuck with is Endomondo. What Endomondo does, is allow you to keep track of your efforts with more longer-duration cardio exercises. It will map and track your runs and collect data about your performance, but it works equally well for biking, walking, and easily a dozen other things. One of the things that I liked is that there are a number of challenges you can enroll in. This allows you to compete with others around the world in your quest to burn calories, which can serve as a good incentive. One of the things I like is that it allows you to publish your exercise via social media like Facebook, which helps you stay more accountable to what you are doing

While not so much an app that helps you exercise, Charity Miles is still really cool. I usually use it in conjunction with Endomondo. Charity Miles will record the distance you travel, and for every mile of activity you generate a small donation to the charity of your choice. Getting into the habit and routine of running can be difficult, and an app like Charity Miles can really help build the incentive. Not only are you running for yourself, but you are doing it to help others, which is an added little bonus.

If you have a trick, an app, a gym, or class that has really worked for you, feel free to share in the comment section! Every bit of advice helps in the quest to fulfill our new years goals.

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About davidroy

I'm the father of a 3-year old boy, Milo and 1/3 of a developing human who has yet to be named. I am also a 7th and 8th grade English teacher at one of Cincinnati's fastest growing, and fastest improving K-8 school. Oh, and I just wrote the article you just read.